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Interview with Rex Briggs, CEO of Marketing Evolution, Co-Author of "What Sticks" |
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CEO of Marketing Evolution |
Co-Author of "What Sticks" |
Contact Info:
(415) 559-9374 or rex.briggs@marketingevolution.com
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Rex Briggs is the founder and CEO of Marketing Evolution, a marketing research consulting firm with offices in New York and California, and with clients in more than 20 countries around the world. Marketing Evolution helps clients measure their marketing to improve effectiveness of their advertising and increase ROI—in other words, to get more for their money.
Rex has more than 15 years' experience specifically in marketing research. He started his career at the strategic market research consulting firm Yankelovich Partners, where his clients included McKinsey & Company, IBM, Toyota, Nissan, AT&T, Hearst Magazines, Fox Studios, Disney, and Microsoft. Before he was 30 years old, his marketing theories were being taught at Harvard and published in books.
The Industry Standard called him a "wunderkind." Rex was named one of the dozen "Best and Brightest" in Media and Technology by Adweek, and one of the people to "watch and learn from" according to Brandweek.
He has been honored with the Atticus Award for his work in Direct Marketing, the Tenagra Award for outstanding contribution to branding, and the Fernanda Monti award for his work in customer relation marketing (CRM).
Rex pioneered the leading methodologies for cross-media marketing measurement, tracking television, magazine, radio, interactive advertising, CRM, events marketing, and the effectiveness of Web sites.
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Ted: Was there anything in particular that inspired you and (co-author) Greg Stuart to write What Sticks?
Briggs: We initially set out to help marketers improve their Return-on-Investment (ROI) by better understanding the effectiveness of advertising in different media, such as TV, magazines and the Internet. What we observed was that some marketers just throw an idea up against the wall in hope that it will stick, and when it doesn’t, they lose millions of advertising dollars. So, we saw a real need to help marketers understand what sticks and why. Turns out that it is more than just the media mix. It comes down to understanding what we call the four Ms, which are consumer motivations, the message, the media mix, and maximization. Master the 4Ms, and the marketer can pretty much guarantee success.
Ted: Please tell our readers a bit about the book.
Briggs: What Sticks is the one book that explains exactly how marketing and advertising works today – based on new insights from analyses of over $1 billion worth of advertising.
What Sticks is based on new proprietary research from the largest-ever global marketing effectiveness project, covering over $1 billion in advertising spending amongst more than 30 Fortune 200 companies, including: Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, McDonalds, Unilever, Ford and others. The book offers practical, hands-on solutions for marketers to get greater results from advertising – and spend potentially less money. We've been delighted to see the book receive so many glowing reviews and it seems like the book is really helping marketers get a grip on how to improve the effectiveness and ROI of their marketing.
Ted: Would you share the learning you found on automotive "cash on the hood" incentives from one of the studies?
Briggs: Cash on the hood is often used when the marketer can’t figure out what to do to improve sales. It is tragic to have to put cash on the hood of a new model, and yet that is what some marketers are doing! Too often marketers have to resort to cash incentives to get the consumer to buy their vehicle instead of identifying other ways to achieve sales much more profitably. Marketing ROI measurement firm Marketing Evolution has set out to help automotive clients avoid the cash on the hood approach, and we have seen clients that have been able to dramatically reduce and delay the amount of cash on the hood by really measuring and understanding the effectiveness of their advertising. Unfortunately, without research many in the auto industry don't have the ability to pinpoint how they can improve their sales, so they are forced to resort to incentives as the only lever they can pull to make a difference in their sales figures.
Ted: For automotive marketers (and their ad agencies) who read this book, what do you think some of the key takeaways will be?
Briggs: Decades ago, retail magnate John Wanamaker spoke these immortal words: "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half."
Today the stakes are much higher – there's an estimated $112 billion (one-third of total U.S. advertising spending) wasted. Automotive brands spend a tremendous amount on marketing. The takeaway from the book is that there is a better way. Marketing and advertising can add a lot more value if we systematically measure and manage it. Because marketing is often the single largest discretionary line item on a company’s budget, wasted dollars can easily mean the difference between barely getting by and achieving success, between beating the Street’s expectations and failing miserably, and between bottom-line profit and loss. We hope the book will inspire marketers to adopt a new generation of marketing and measurement tools to improve success.
Ted: The landscape is changing pretty quickly these days – what are some of the big changes you foresee throughout the next year in the advertising world?
Briggs: There is a 100-year-old cycle in marketing. First the consumer adopts a new media, then marketers slowly move to advertise in the new media, and then the research measurement companies work to measure the ROI. Even though the Internet is over a decade old, and now almost every marketer understands they need to be online (not just with a Web site, but with advertising and consumer created content too), the measurement of Marketing ROI across media that Marketing Evolution pioneered is only five years old, and many companies aren’t aware that they can measure and optimize their marketing across media. So, I think a big trend over the next year is marketers moving to a much more scientific marketing approach. One that blends science of measurement with the talent of communications.
Ted: What did you do before founding Marketing Evolution?
Briggs: I began my career at Yankelovich Partners, a firm that mixed sociology with marketing – they coined the term psychographics, which meant that we looked at consumers' hopes and dreams to understand market place behavior rather than looking at the consumer’s age and sex (demographics). I remember my first big auto study was back in the early 90s, when Toyota Japan had told the US to exit the SUV segment. Toyota Japan pointed out that the SUV was less safe than a car, handled poorly, had lousy gas mileage, and no one seemed to ever take them off road, so "what was the point?" As I analyzed the consumer in the 90s, what Toyota missed was the fact that the consumer "felt" safer, enjoyed the greater visibility which offset the handling issues and, with the rugged individualist in us, Americans like the idea that we could go offroad (even if we never do). Besides, what parent in the early 90s wanted to drive their mother’s station wagon? The age of the SUV is winding down, but that study helped keep Toyota from exiting the most profitable segment of the auto industry over the last decade and probably made them billions in profits.
Ted: What do you like to do when you're not working?
Briggs: I really love work and the challenge of isolating the effects of different marketing influences. But when I am not working, I love to take my sports cars to the racetrack, strap on a helmet and go all out. There is something Zen-like when racing into a corner and sorting out breaking, gear and cornering. The mind is so engaged in the moment that there is no room to worry about work, or wonder if you should check your Blackberry. I only wish there were more track days and less flight time shuttling between our California and New York offices.
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Tim Weaver, VP Marketing and New Product Development, Dealix Corporation |
56% of Leads Convert to Sales. Did they buy from your dealership?
A new study by R.L. Polk and The Cobalt Group found that 56% of 1.1 million Internet leads studied resulted in a sale. Dealix aggregates high quality leads from the top sites on the Web, including: Edmunds, AOL Autos, Motor Trend, Kelley Blue Book, Yahoo Autos, IntelliChoice, AutoTrader.com, MSN Autos, and hundreds more, to connect you with serious car buyers. Don’t lose these sales to a competitor! Find out how many buyers are in your target market instantly with the Dealix On-Demand Lead EstimatorSM. Select your franchises, set the size of your territory, and...
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DealerTrack's Innovation Conference |
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When: November 7 & 8, 2006
Where: Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas
Registration:
Online: Register Here
Phone: (888) 799-8685
Why this conference is of particular significance to dealers and Internet marketing: It looks like Microsoft is going to show the industry their new DMS system, breakout sessions are going to focus on how dealers and lenders can fund vehicles using technology, and then there are presentations on how 2006 trends ( the year is practically over) can and will be transitioned into 2007 projections. Basically, the conference will seek to tackle questions head-on to help dealers use technology to drive revenue—something we have heard before—but this time you will get a briefing on best practices and the latest applications from the sponsors of the conference.
Who will be talking and about what? First off, you are going to hear from Tom Peters about the impact of the Internet on auto buying patterns. The schedule is really well organized into Dealer-Lender-F&I by each day, starting on Monday with Golf sticks, poker and Jim Belushi. Attendees can pick and choose sessions in a track-like format.
A lot of industry Web and technology firepower is on the agenda for each day: Paul O’Neil, DealerTrack; John Holt, Cobalt; Chip Perry, AutoTrader.com; Tom Hudson, Carlaw; Rich Von Pusch, Manheim; Hugh Abernathy; Kevin Westfall, AutoNation; Dave Robertson, AFIP, and a number of leading-edge dealer managers in a panel setting.
Subjects to be covered in a whole new and fresh way: Floor planning, Lead Management, Aftermarket sales, Compliance, E-contracting, and the latest in auto lending technology. [Go to www.dt-innovationconference.com and print out the PDF – impressive program, indeed.]
Who will be in the room: Dealer principals, general managers, sales managers, and F& I directors. Plus a lot of “Financing Partners” such as DealerTrack, Microsoft and Dealix who are eager to get more loan and lease paper delivered by the latest innovation in lending technology. The people attending will be some of the “cutting edge” developers and implementers of automotive technology--- all focused on giving dealers more tools to increase and protect profitability - including making sure all are in compliance.
The Hotel and Golf: The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is a magnificent hotel. The DealerTrack Innovation Conference Block is currently closed but they have an arrangement for booking directly with Mandalay Bay on the same conference rate based on availability. If you do not hold a reservation, you can email check in and out dates to myla.diaz@bobit.com.
As for the golf, Paiute Golf Resort Snow Mountain Course is over 7,000 yards on a par 72, so bring your big-hitting clubs and a pencil that deducts strokes. You are going to have some fun, forget about the car sale situation and make some deals on the golf course. Manheim is the sponsor so it has to be good.
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Patrick Ryan - Father of the Finance & Insurance Concept |
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Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of an automobile dealer, Pat Ryan recalls working at his father's dealership while in high school. But his entrepreneurial spirit was kindled, he says, by making personalized college scrapbooks and selling them dorm-to-dorm while attending college at Northwestern University, making $8,000 during his senior year. "It convinced me I had the ability to develop a new business," says Ryan.
So, at age 26 (in 1964), Ryan conceived an idea for new-car dealers that grew into a very lucrative business. He proposed that dealers sell life and disability insurance to customers financing their vehicles. He sold the concept to Chicago's Continental Assurance Company and set out in his own car to provide policies to dealers in the upper Midwest as head of Pat Ryan & Associates. The concept caught on quickly and, by 1968, the firm was grossing $15 million in premiums a year. In 1971, Ryan took his firm public to help raise capital to diversify into related insurance products.
Eventually the firm, headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, IL, became Aon (Gaelic word for "oneness" or "unity") Corporation, acquired Globe Life (1976) and the Kemper Insurance agencies (1981), merged with Combined Insurance (1982) and grew into a $4.5 billion company with about 28,000 employees including subsidiaries Aon Warranty Group and Resource Automotive group. Ryan has accumulated a bevy of awards and honors along the way, including the Horatio Alger award (1987) and, with his wife Shirley, the Distinguished Philanthropist award (1998). He is Director of the Chicago Bears professional football team and is Chairman of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Games evaluation committee. Ryan relinquished the CEO slot of Aon in April 2005 but remains as Executive Chairman.
Pat Ryan says: "In my view, there is only one way I do business – the right way. At Aon, the right way means demonstrating the highest levels of integrity in a highly principled, highly moral and highly ethical manner."
Management sound byte: "The Aon culture values entrepreneurship and working together in a disciplined, but non-bureaucratic approach. An entrepreneur takes considered risks and shows initiative in order to build something of value."
Contact: You may reach Pat Ryan through Aon Corporation, 1000 Milwaukee Avenue, Glenview, IL 60025, or at (847) 953-1000.
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Dennis Cuneo Retires from Toyota |
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Dennis Cuneo, SVP for Toyota in charge of US government relations and site selection for North American factories, has retired from his position. Cuneo is rejoining his previous employer Arent Fox as counsel for the firm's automotive group.
www.toyota.com
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Yomi Famurewa Named CIO at Modine |
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Modine Manufacturing Company recently named Yomi Famurewa as its Chief Information Officer. He was most recently the Chief Information Officer at Keego Technologies. Famurewa will lead Modine's global IT function, including developing overall IT strategy to align processes with business goals, creating governance roadmaps, rationalizing vendor platforms, creating IT business measurements, championing continuous improvements and collaborating with other industry IT leaders.
www.modine.com
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Chris Howie Joins Newgen as Sales VP |
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Christopher Howie has joined Newgen Results Corporation as VP of Sales. Previously, Chris was the VP of Sales at Marketrend, where he supported company growth by expanding the sales force and revenue. Chris has more than 15 years’ experience working with car companies and retailers to increase vehicle, parts, and service sales while strengthening business-client relationships. In addition, Chris has defined and implemented CRM strategies for some of the most successful dealer groups and manufacturers in North America. At Newgen, Chris will be responsible for leading the company’s sales efforts with dealerships, car companies and strategic partners.
www.newgen.com
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Kathy Marinello Now President and CEO at Ceridian |
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Ceridian Corp has named Kathy Marinello as President and CEO. Marinello was previously President of GE Commercial Finance Fleet Services. Marinello will succeed Ronald Turner, who announced his retirement in April. She will be elected to the Ceridian Board of Directors at the next Board meeting. Marinello joined GE in 1997 with experience in financial services marketing and operations, including positions at First Data Corp., First Bank System, Chemical Bank, and Citibank.
www.ceridian.com
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Donlen's Bob Zimmer Earns World Class ASE Certification |
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Donlen Corporation recently announced that Bob Zimmer, Director of Strategic Consulting Services and Reporting Architecture, earned World Class ASE certification for automotive professionals from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. He previously earned the Master level certifications in 1987 and first achieved World Class certification in 1994. The World Class certification is a significant achievement, with only 99 currently held nationwide.
www.donlen.com
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Consumers Return to Old Ways as Price of Gas Drops: |
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'One for the Road' seeks each week to find, feature and share a quote from a leading automotive executive that is timely, insightful and substantive.
"The recent drop in gasoline prices once again shows that consumers have a short memory when it comes to the effect that gas prices have on their shopping behavior."
- Patrick Olsen, managing editor, Cars.com
Sourced From: PRNewswire, October 9, 2006
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